The Puppet Monster Massacre (2010)

The PrologueFrom time to time on here I’ve reviewed movies that while different in style didn’t really reach that entertaining level it needed to reach. The Puppet Monster Massacre, is exactly what the title says, a horror movie that has puppets as stars. It’s again one of those films that are very creative in concept and sounds pretty good on paper. And unlike a lot of the other stylish films I’ve had to cover from time to time, it’s not a complete waste on quality either. So as shocking as it might sound, a horror film with no real actors and all puppets can be fun (at times) to watch.

The MovieA group of teens are challenged to spend a night in the Wagner mansion on the edge of town. If they stay there for the whole night, they each walk away with a million dollars. Sounds pretty easy doesn’t it? Well, little do they know the owner has concocted a monstrosity in the basement. A monstrosity that is so evil and so vile that I can’t even start to put it’s sheer terror into words. Also, add in the fact that we have some hidden secrets and alternative motives and you have yourself a pretty cool little movie.

For starters this movie has been described as a “love letter to 80’s horror” and it more or less does just that with it’s content. If you’ve seen one 80’s horror film you’ve seen this. We have gore, we have monsters, we have nudity, and we have a typical plot. However, it’s done with puppets here so that makes it somewhat refreshing as you watch it. You also can’t discount the creative side of things here. There’s a few cool computer aided settings for the puppets, the lighting matches the scenes on the puppets, and this is one of the rare time where CGI blood oddly fits.

Of course to spite being a rather short movie, the movie doesn’t start off half as well as it ends. It drags at the start and some of the jokes simply aren’t very funny. There’s a lot of fart and perverted jokes that are hard pressed to get a chuckle out of a fully matured individual. But nearing the ending of the film the action pick up, the violence picks up, and things just get a whole heck of a lot more interesting than where they began from. So there is some cool stuff to see if you can just hang in there after the lackluster start. But sadly, you have to deal with terrible fart jokes for the most part of the film.

It’s by no means mind blowingly good, but it’s OK for what you get here. Puppets aren’t going to be for everyone and it’s not at the top of my “things I want to see” list. That being said, it could have been a whole lot worse than it is. And in perspective, it’s probably a lot better than it had any right to be. It takes effort to make something like this, so kudos to the director for doing it and making it watchable. It’s going to tickle every red blooded horror fan’s fancy, but then again what does these days?

The ConclusionIf the idea of a horror movie made up of puppets (and not Puppet Master type puppets but Sesame Street ones) then you can CLICK ON OVER to MVD and pick this one up. It’s not the best, but not the worst thing I’ve seen this year. It’s your typical 80’s style horror movie, just with puppets.